NBA Playoffs First Round | Bucks vs Celtics Game Six updates

AN NBA “villain” has re-ignited the playoffs’ pettiest feud as Boston fell asleep and paid a heavy price against Milwaukee.

Eric Bledsoe is letting Terry Rozier know about it.

• NBA: We botched LeBron call

Live: Celtics v Bucks

Boston and Milwaukee are going to game seven after the Bucks took out game six on their home court on Friday.

THON Maker fouled out late in the fourth quarter, but Milwaukee had already done enough to take out game six in their first round playoffs series against Boston.

The Bucks sent the series back to Boston for the decisive game seven with a comfortable 97-86 victory in Milwaukee.

Maker was a beast on defence, finishing with eight rebounds, four points and one eye-catching block during his 24 minutes on the floor.

Aussie guard Matthew Dellavedova also made an impact coming off the bench to finish with six assists and three points in 16 minutes of game time.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points and 14 rebounds — including a massive 11-point fourth quarter — to keep the Celtics at arms length down the stretch.

The up-and-coming Bucks haven’t played a seventh game in the playoffs since losing to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round in 2010.

Both teams went on extended runs to take big leads.

The Bucks made the last big push to close out the Celtics.

Boston had to settle for perimeter looks down the stretch. They couldn’t hit enough 3s, finishing 10 of 36 (28 per cent) on the night, and the Bucks limited Boston on the glass.

On offence, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks’ charge right at the heart of the Celtics’ defence.

After Eric Bledsoe picked off Jayson Tatum’s in-bounds pass, Antetokounmpo converted an offensive rebound with a putback off the glass for an 89-81 lead with 3:08 left. It was part of an 11-3 run late to help the Bucks pull away for 10-point advantage.

With his team facing elimination, Antetokounmpo vowed to be more aggressive following a five-point loss in Game 5.

The two-time All-Star produced in the crunch time, scoring 20 points in the second half on 8-of-14 shooting.

Tatum finished with 22 points, and Terry Rozier had 18 for the Celtics. After holding the edge on the glass for most of the series, Boston got outrebounded 48-39.

— with AP

12.45pm

Giannis delivers down the stretch

Giannis Antetokounmpo smashed 11 points in the last quarter to guide Milwaukee to a big game six win over the Celtics.

Boston closed to within two points in the final quarter, but had no answer to Antetokounmpo’s clutch baskets down the stretch.

He finished with 31 points and 14 rebounds as Milwaukee took it out 97-86.

12pm

Bucks hold off Celtic surge

Milwaukee finished the third quarter with a 13-4 run to reestablish a 74-65 advantage after Boston had fought back from a 48-39 halftime deficit to tie the game at 61-61.

Giannis Antetokounmpo leads all scorers with 19 points.

11.15am

Petty feud reignites as Milwaukee opens up nine-point buffer

Milwaukee Bucks' Eric Bledsoe is fouled by Boston Celtics' Shane Larkin. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee went on a 10-2 run at the end of the first half to open up a 48-39 lead at half time.

It came as squabbling guards Eric Bledsoe and Terry Rozier continued their ongoing battle.

The pair have been in each other’s faces all through their NBA playoffs series, highlighted by an ugly scuffle during Boston’s Game 5 win.

A series of push-and-shoves off the ball eventually led to Bledsoe pushing Rozier right into a referee. Rozier was hit with a technical foul for retaliating and Bledsoe was hit with a flagrant foul.

BLEDSOE THREW UP ROZIER'S 3 SIGN EARLIER AND ROZIER WASN'T TAKING IT. BLEDSOE HIT WITH A FLAGRANT 1. pic.twitter.com/uqWsQgdc9D

— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) April 25, 2018

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It came after Rozier had called Bledsoe “Drew” during a pre-series interview — mixing his first name up with New England Patriots player Drew Bledsoe.

Bledsoe responded by saying he doesn’t know who Rozier is.

Their running battle continued in the first half of Game 6 with Bledsoe knocking down a three and then mouthing off at his rival as they jogged down to the other end of the court.

Really didn't know Bledsoe had these villain like tendencies

— Warren Shaw 🇯🇲 (@ShawSportsNBA) April 27, 2018

Eric Bledsoe was screaming something at Terry Rozier after making that triple. They have ... not exactly made amends, it seems.

— Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA) April 27, 2018

10.30am

Celtics tangle up Greek Freak

Giannis Antetokounmpo managed just two points in the opening quarter as the Bucks trailed the Celtics 24-22.

Terry Rozier paced the Celtics with 11 points.

9am

Curry closing on return

The Warriors have survived without Steph Curry so far.

Stephen Curry resumed full practice with contact and could play for the defending champion Golden State Warriors as soon as Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals against New Orleans.

Curry looked strong as he practised Friday wearing a protective brace over his sprained left knee, which has sidelined him since the injury March 23 — the same day he returned from a six-game absence because of a hurt right ankle.

Coach Steve Kerr is calling Curry questionable for Saturday. “Steph practised at 100 per cent, he did everything, he looked good,” Kerr said. “What we have to do is see how his body responds the rest of the day, put him through another practice tomorrow. I think he needs to string together two good days but it was very positive today. ... I think it’s been coming along pretty well. When we were in San Antonio and I was asked a question about how he was doing, I think I was able to give an answer, ‘He’s doing great but we haven’t ramped him up yet.’ I think today was an important day because it’s the first time he’s actually gone live action and he was allowed to go through practice. And he appears fine.”

Curry went through his usual shooting work with Kevin Durant from various spots after practice, cutting and exhibiting his fancy footwork and dribbling skills.

The Warriors have played well without their floor leader, eliminating the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the first-round series with a 99-91 win Tuesday night.

The Pelicans will present a different, faster pace for the Warriors, so getting Curry back to push the ball and direct the offence would be important.

Andre Iguodala, the 2015 NBA Finals MVP, started in the first round in his place while Quinn Cook handled point guard duties late in the regular season with Curry out. “We’re excited. I know he’s very eager to play,” said Klay Thompson. “He’s a competitor, so sitting out I know kills him. We can’t wait for him to get back whenever that is.”

— AP

8.30am

NBA: We botched LeBron block call

The ball clearly touched the backboard before James swatted it.

While Cleveland basks in the glow of LeBron James’ latest heroic play, the Pacers now get the satisfaction of knowing it could have gone differently — and knowing there’s nothing they can do about it.

James, who blocked a Victor Oladipo shot then hit a game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds Wednesday night in a 98-95 victory, should have been called for a goaltend, according to the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report released Thursday.

The league’s admission was not news to Oladipo, who complained immediately after the game about the non-call.

“I got a step on him, felt like I even got grabbed on the way to the rim,” Oladipo said. “I tried to shoot a layup, it hit the backboard, then he blocked it. … It was a goaltend. It’s hard to even speak on it. It just sucks, honestly. It really sucks.”

The NBA concurred with Oladipo’s assessment, without commenting on how badly the referees missed the non-call.

The play was not reviewable because no whistle was blown, according to NBA senior vice president of replay and referee operations Joe Borgia.

“Our rule is once the ball touches the glass, a defender cannot touch it,” Borgia said. “But in order to use replay, you must call goaltending on the court. And no call was made on the court. Therefore, they could not come over and look at it.”

After James’ buzzer-beating 3, the Pacers sat in stunned disbelief, some watching the replay of the previous sequence, convinced they had seen goaltending.

“We can look at the replay,” Pacers forward Lance Stephenson said. “Clearly, clearly a goaltending.”

Of course, the goaltend would have put two points on the board for the Pacers, still setting up James for a potential game-winning 3, but Oladipo wasn’t convinced it would have gone down the same way.

“Give him credit where credit is due, the 3 was big time, definitely huge,” Oladipo said. “But who’s to say they even run that play? We don’t know what happens. It’s unfortunate. It really sucks that they missed that [call].”

For his part, the King laughed it off.

“Of course I didn’t think it was a goaltend,” James said. “I try to make plays like that all the time, and I mean he made a heck of a move, got me leaning right and he went left, and I just tried to use my recovery speed and get back up there and make a play on the ball. And I was able to make a play.”

Or not. Though the Cavaliers and their fans surely will take the 3-2 series lead just the same.

— New York Post

Originally published as NBA Playoffs First Round | Bucks vs Celtics Game Six updates